Mayor airs rural firefighting safety fears

The North Burnett Mayor says cuts to the rural firefighting service will discourage people moving to the bush.

Senior Gayndah fire personnel will be relocated to Maryborough when the cuts are introduced.

Mayor Don Waugh says locals will not feel safe if crews are cut.

"I feel like having the regional office in Gayndah in the middle of the North Burnett gives a much better coverage of the area," he said.

"It makes people feel that they are covered and feel safer because of it.

"These services in particular are extremely important to people that want to come and live in the country areas."

Councillor Waugh says having the main office nearly 300 kilometres away is ridiculous.

"It is a very big area, it's 200km from one end to the other ... it covers 20,000 square kilometres and while it has fire services in each of the towns, it is the fire chief [in Gayndah] that looks after the region as a whole," he said.